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The 117th Ojai Tennis Tournament hits the courts

Martin Redlicki of UCLA hits a return against UC Berkeley in a 2016 Pac-12 Men’s Tennis Championship doubles match at The Ojai Tennis Tournament. UCLA is among the favorites to win the men's team title again this year.(Photo: CHUCK KIRMAN/THE STAR)Buy Photo

While the 2017 Ojai Tennis Tournament officially kicked off on Wednesday with a handful of matches, Thursday marks the first full day of action at the 117th edition of one of the oldest tennis tournaments in the country.

More than 1,200 players will compete in 26 divisions ranging from juniors to the Pac-12 Championships.

A total of 112 tennis courts in the Ojai Valley, Ventura, Oxnard and Port Hueneme will be called into service to accommodate all of the action.

The tournament’s oldest championships are the Men’s and Women’s Open Divisions. Among the tennis greats who have captured the Men’s Open title were Arthur Ashe, Jack Kramer, Bill Tilden, Pancho Gonzales and Tony Trabert. On the women’s side, Billie Jean King and Tracy Austin are past Women’s Open winners.

Philip Bester, who won the Men’s Open title in 2015, is the top seed. Joining him is longtime Ojai fan favorite Cecil Mamiit.

In the Women’s Open division, Oceanside’s Megan McCreary is the top seed. Five-time Ojai champion Gail Brodsky, a former Weil Academy student, is back to compete after taking time off to have children. Newbury Park resident Dominique Schaefer is also in the mix.

The main event is the Pac-12 Championships, where this year for the first time both the men and the women will compete in a dual team format.

Since the men started using the team-only format in 2012, only UCLA and USC have won the conference title. USC won in 2012 and 2015; UCLA in 2013, 2014 and 2016.

UCLA, which beat Cal in the finals last season, returns all kinds of talent, including senior Gage Brymer. Brymer is one of two players in Ojai history to win The Ojai’s Boys’ CIF crown three consecutive years. Teammate Austin Rapp won the Boys’ CIF title in 2014, a year after winning The Ojai’s Boys’ 16 singles competition. The Bruins also have Martin Redlicki, last year’s NCAA Division I doubles champion, who has teamed with freshman Evan Zhu to create another formidable doubles tandem.

USC added two top freshmen to its stable of talent in Riley Smith and Brandon Holt, who played in the Men’s Open Division finals last year. He is the son of tennis Hall of Famer Tracy Austin.

UC Berkeley added freshman Bjorn Hoffmann, who reached the finals of the Boys CIF Singles at The Ojai in 2015 and 2016.

This will be the first year the women will use the dual team format. The competition looks wide-open and includes reigning NCAA champion Stanford, Cal, UCLA, USC and Arizona State.

UCLA has freshman Ena Shibahara, who won The Ojai’s Women’s Open Division title the last two years. USC’s well-rounded team is spearheaded by the doubles duo of senior Zoe Katz and junior Gabby Smith.

Depending on the venue, play generally starts at 8 or 9 a.m. and continues throughout the day. The schedule is subject to change without notice.

Most venues are free, with the exception being matches at Libbey Park, Ojai Valley Inn and Ojai Valley Athletic Club.

Ticket prices are $10 for the first two days and $20 over the weekend. Kids ages 5-18 are $5 for Thursday and Friday and $10 over the weekend.